KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan – Another Canadian soldier has been killed and another injured in action in Afghanistan early today.

He is the second soldier to die in combat in less than a week, and the 90th Canadian soldier lost in Afghanistan since the Canadian war effort began in 2002.

The battle occurred at a combat outpost early morning Monday, in the Panjwayi District of Afghanistan.

Killed in action was Master Corporal Erin Doyle, a member of the 3rd Battalion, Princess Patrica’s Canadian Light Infantry based in Edmonton, Alta. Doyle was attached to the 2nd Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Light Infantry. He leaves behind his wife Nicole and his daughter Zarine.

ARGHANDAB DISTRICT, Afghanistan – With a large contingent from Winnipeg’s Fort Garry Horse Reserve unit, I witnessed first–hand what it is like to go "outside the wire" into Arghandab District. It’s a war zone.

Slipping on my battle helmet and steel–plated body armour, I joined five Canadian soldiers in one of many military vehicles that were part of a heavily–armed guard protecting a convoy of supply trucks on their way to NATO forward operating bases.

Inside a Canadian RG–31 armoured vehicle, we left the comforts of the well–protected Kandahar Airfield compound and headed toward outlying areas past Kandahar City. Strapped in by a five–point harness, squished alongside some of our country’s finest soldiers, I quickly learned how they cope with the dangers they face everyday in Afghanistan.

We were the lead vehicle in a long line of trucks and military vehicles as we rolled down the highway. When our driver saw vehicles coming towards us on the highway, he would drive straight at them, forcing them to pull over so our fleet could pass safely.

Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan – Imagine being in a hot, hot, 47–degree–C hot sauna, full of choking dust.

Welcome to Kandahar Airfield in Afghanistan.

Also imagine being Canadian soldier Private Jonathan Guevin of 2nd Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry putting on his battle gear – including a vest with metal plates and a helmet – and climbing inside a dark green LAV–3 Canadian armoured troop carrier with no air conditioning.

Inside these armoured carriers, the temperatures can turn quickly into a hot oven causing the soldiers’ body core temperature to hit 60C. Obviously, in that intense heat, drinking water – and lots of it – is how they survive.

It will be a day I will never forget, Sept 11, 2001 - and for reasons beyond that it was my birthday.

It was the day our world changed forever, a tragic day we’ll all remember as the beginning of the war on terror, a war that has seen 88 Canadians die hunting down those responsible for the Sept. 11 attacks.

Seven years later, soldiers from the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry from Shilo are in Afghanistan, joining in the hunt. It’s believed to be the largest contingent of soldiers to be deployed from Manitoba in recent memory. They are coming to the end of their six–month tour of duty in Afghanistan.

As you read this, I am in Afghanistan with them, embedded with our troops, filing web reports, photographs and stories of Manitoba’s bravest.